Pakistan’s Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday admitted his country's role in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack in India for the first time, calling it a “success’” for the nation and Imran Khan-led government.
Chaudhry was addressing the Pakistan National Assembly when he called Pulwama a matter of pride and said Pakistan hit India by entering their home (Pulwama district in Kashmir).
"We hit India in their home. Our success in Pulwama, is a success of the people under the leadership of Imran Khan. You and us are all part of that success," Chaudhry said in the national assembly.
Soon after the minister was interrupted by the National Assembly Speaker amid the uproar in the assembly, Chaudhry rephrased his statement and said:
“After Pulwama incident, we hit India in their home,” he clarified.
The revelation came amid the ongoing political row in Pakistan over opposition leader Ayaz Sadiq's claim over Indian pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman getting captured by their forces.
Sadiq stoked controversy by saying on Wednesday that Army Chief Qamar Bajwa was sweating, and his “legs were trembling with fear” during a meeting convened by Prime Minister Imran Khan after the country’s forces captured the Indian pilot.
He had added that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had said they should let [Varthaman] go because India could attack Pakistan at 9 PM that day.
The Indian pilot was captured by Pakistan for a brief time after a dogfight between Indian and Pakistani fighter jets on 14 February 2019. India attacked a camp of suspected terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistan's Balakot area.
It was retaliation by India for the 14 February terrorist attack in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir by a Jaish-e-Mohammad's (JeM) suicide bomber.